6. Harlow
Harlow
Sweater Weather had a small line by the time I arrived, and I couldn’t see Kasey over the group of customers, so I slumped down into an armchair by the window and let my handbag fall from my shoulder.
My head hit the back of the upholstery. I exhaled slowly, letting my heart rate slow down, just like I’d practiced so many times before.
I now realized why the Bramley name was so familiar. It hadn’t just been the Zoom call, it had been scrawled across the napkin Kasey had given me, too.
Turn off at the sign for Bramley Farm.
Now that I thought about it, I might have also seen their name on a bottle in the liquor store last time I visited Ottawa.
I shouldn’t unleash my frustrations on the girl who had saved me from sleeping in my car, but I needed to vent to Kasey.
Jude had said they were family and she lived on the farm too, but I’d been blindsided.
Maybe it was just small-town hospitality where everything was perfectly whimsical and you didn’t need to introduce yourself to someone before moving into their house. Still, I was a little shocked.
“Hey, city girl.” A steaming mug landed on the table beside me. “Here’s your filthy chai.”
I groaned a little at the nickname. “Not so loud. That can’t be people’s first impression of me.”
She let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry so much.” I reached into my purse, to hand her some cash but she stopped me. “You can pay your tab at the end of the month. I feel like you’re going to be a regular. And plus”—she shot me a wink and slid into the armchair opposite me—“I know where you live.”
“Yeah, about that. You didn’t tell me it wasn’t your house!”
She tilted her head. “I think I said it was our farm.”
“What if I had been, I don’t know”—I took a long sip of my chai—“walking around naked!”
She gasped. “Were you?”
“No!” I stifled a laugh behind the mug. “But I looked like an idiot when I met Jude today.”
Kasey kicked her feet up, grinning. So she knows exactly what she’s doing.
“I thought you’d like him. And I couldn’t help it when I found out you were the new hire at the council.”
“Well, he hates me.”
“No! What did he do?”
I shot her a sideways glance. “I’m not going to bitch about your cousin.”
“Oh, so he told you that. Must have spoken for a bit?”
I sighed into my drink. “He thinks I’m scattered. He doesn’t trust me with the event we’re supposed to be planning together. I need to get out of his hair and his house, before I make it any worse.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re staying with us.” Kasey rolled her eyes and continued before I could protest about trying to find another rental. “He’s being arrogant. Let me talk to him.”
“No. I just need to prove him wrong.” Kasey nodded, and I continued talking. “If you have any ideas for a festival, I wouldn’t mind impressing him.”
“What’ve you got so far?”
I hesitated. “Well, I did this event that got lots of attention back in the UK. It was post-for-entry, so it got tons of social media reach. Maybe we could do something like that to drum up hype?”
Kasey grimaced. “Okay, what else?”
“Ah, what about a hashtag campaign? I did that back in Toronto. We could get people to share photos of Autumn Creek. Something like VisitAC?”
“Not that one.”
“Or I was thinking of maybe doing a giveaway. Boosting a post with lots of comments and shares to bring in attention?”
Kasey sighed. “It all just feels a little, I don’t know…distant?”
“I know.” I dropped my head against the side of the chair and listened to the sounds of the cafe swirling around me.
“I’m still pulling myself and my thoughts together.
But I know I can do better. I just feel like a mess right now.
I’m glad at least you’re the only person I ran into when I first arrived. ”
“Is it the breakup?” Her eyes softened. “Don’t worry, your drama is safe with me.”
“It’s not even that. I just feel like my feet aren’t on the ground. Even with everything going on, I’m supposed to be good at my job!”
“It’s hard when you don’t know the town.”
I bit the inside of my cheek at her words. It sounded like what Jude had said.
“Some of those aren’t terrible ideas, but you can’t do just that. Maybe I could introduce you to a few more locals so you can get to know the place.”
I immediately perked up. “That would be great! I could get to know what you guys really want out of this festival.” My marketing brain was running wild with ideas. “Seriously, thank you!”
She squeezed my shoulder. “I’ve got you, don’t worry.”